DVLA celebrates twenty years of personalised registration plates

The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) will hold its latest auction of personalised registration plates on 7th October at the Dormy House Hotel in the Cotswolds, an event that will mark the twentieth anniversary of the first such sale.

The personalised registrations scheme allows car-owners to bid for previously unissued plates in order to give their cars a distinctive look. Since 1989, over three million such registrations have been sold at prices of up to £352,411 – the record set in March this year when a businessman bought the combination 1 D in one of the DVLA's auctions.

Most customers buy cheaper plates – prices start at just £245 – but demand for the more expensive options is holding up well despite the weak economy; plate sales raised over £80 million during the DVLA's last financial year, and the last year has seen six of the ten highest prices ever achieved for personalised registrations.